Ninety-nine per cent of Leeds United fans polled by The Athletic on their hope ahead of the new season said they were optimistic this month. No other set of fans in the Premier League matched that percentage in our survey.

It is a strange world when the optimistic epicentre of the top flight is in West Yorkshire, but it sums up the feel-good factor around Elland Road this summer. It has not escaped manager Daniel Farke’s attention either.

In Thursday’s press conference, ahead of Saturday’s visit to Nottingham Forest, Farke was asked if his job was made harder by the optimism around the club.

“I’ve read something today, or someone has mentioned it: we are the most optimistic club in the whole Premier League to head into the season,” he said. “Ninety-nine per cent of our supporters are optimistic.

“I don’t want to change this one bit because this club has suffered so long and was pessimistic for so long. It’s just proof we have done so much correct in the last years and I’m happy about this.”

He’s right. The key decision-makers at Leeds, including Farke, have made a lot of very good, sensible, obvious decisions since July 2023 and the result of that is this current glow.

There is no better time for optimism than before a ball is kicked, before the harsh refereeing decisions, dodgy deflections and unfair results start to spoil it all. For now, and arguably the first time in 25 years, Leeds fans can dare to feel like they support a competently run, well-financed football club.

Thursday’s media briefing was saturated with questions about the season ahead, United’s prospects, what Farke considers a good season and what may constitute failure. The 2026 edition of the manager’s State of the Union address was embraced the optimism but was cautious about getting carried away.

Leeds fans need to go back 25 years to find a period of such positivity (George Wood/Getty Images)

“I want our supporters to be exactly like this (optimistic),” he said. “I just want to mention, if this were the mood on the stock exchange, 99 per cent optimism, the bubble will burst very soon.

“I have to make sure I don’t allow this because, if we put the crossbar to the good old days of 40 years ago, playing for the title and position 14 is not good enough anymore, or we have to do three or four positions better, then we are completely on the wrong path.

“I won’t allow this because this is exactly what we did a few years ago and it ended in a disaster. A great coach like Marcelo (Bielsa) lost a job here.

“We had a disaster, financial chaos, four different managers within six months, relegation back to the Championship. I try everything within my skills to do better, but it will be difficult, otherwise, we would have done it before.”

The last time Leeds put two good top-flight seasons back-to-back was 2000-01 (fourth) and 2001-02 (fifth). The slide to League One began thereafter and, as Farke mentioned, when Bielsa took the club back in 2020-21, they fell apart in 2021-22.

Lessons from that collapse, which began with an underfunded summer of poor recruitment, have been learned. When you break down the state of play at Leeds, you understand why the fans are daring to dream again.

Further recruitment is expected before the window closes, but of course, any Leeds fan of any vintage should, rightly, be shaking their head as they read this. They might be optimistic, but they will also recognise that feeling that it is supposed to go wrong from here. It’s a defence mechanism.

The one loose thread, on which the media invited Farke to pull, was his own future. In a long list of sound decisions, the absence of a new contract for the manager stands out.

After an ill-fated season 2023-24 season, in which Leeds finished third with 90 points but lost the Championship play-off final to Southampton, they secured promotion with a 100-point Championship title the following season. A 14th-place top-flight finish, in which they lost just five times in their final 25 games, has put Farke in a strong position. And yet, as the season nears, he continues to count down to a June 2027 contract expiry.

He tried to defuse any analysis of that his own contract situation by talking up the importance of the last days of the transfer window and the imminent matches ahead. It should not have taken this long for his future to be decided, however.

The manager was trying to keep everyone grounded on Thursday. This will not be easy, but the support should be allowed to dream. This is what he wanted when he channelled his compatriot Jurgen Klopp in April 2024.

In the same way Klopp said Liverpool’s transition began by turning doubters into believers in 2015, as Leeds aimed for Championship promotion, Farke said: “I would like to invite everyone to be a believer.”

Eight hundred and fifty-three days later, the German may finally have his wish.

Brazil great Ronaldinho said he hopes he can score his 300th career goal after announcing a comeback at the age of 46 at Italian third-tier side Ravenna.

Thousands of fans gathered at a city beach for an event dubbed “Ronaldinho Day”, enduring rain to witness the unveiling of the former Paris St-Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan playmaker, who retired from playing in 2015.

“I’m very happy to be here with friends, we have a team that can do something good,” said Ronaldinho, who will become a shareholder in the Serie C side.

“Will you see me play? I don’t know, only the coach knows that. Coming back to Italy is wonderful, I’m here to help my teammates win.

“As you can see, I’m in shape, I feel good… If I could score my 300th goal, that would be even more beautiful.”

Ronaldinho ended his career in September 2015 when he played his last official match with Brazilian club Fluminense.

He won the World Cup in 2002, scoring the winning goal in the quarter-final against England, and the Ballon d’Or in 2005.

The forward’s comeback was first announced in June by Ignazio Cipriani, an Italian-American businessman and owner of the club since 2024, while he was attending the World Cup in Miami.

“His objective is romantic, to try to score his last goal,” said Cipriani on Thursday.

“His involvement is not a token gesture or a marketing stunt to get people talking about us.”

Cipriani added that Ronaldinho would not play against Reggiana on Monday in the Serie C season opener.

Ravenna finished third in Group B of last season’s third-tier championship and are seeking a return to Serie B, where they haven’t played since 2008.